Benign Pathologies Encountered in the Whipple Pancreatico-Duodenectomy Specimen- 11-Year Experience from a Tertiary Care Center

IntroductionPancreaticoduodenectomy is the standard treatment for resectable pancreatic head malignancies and other ampullary/peri-ampullary lesions. It is also the standard of care for symptomatic relief in chronic pancreatitis. However, despite advancements in diagnostic modalities, some lesions that are clinically suspicious for malignancy may reveal a surprising benign pathology. Thus, various neoplastic and non-neoplastic lesions are encountered in the pancreaticoduodenectomy specimens.MethodsPancreaticoduodenectomy specimens received at our institute over a period of 11 years were retrieved. Only those patients with a final diagnosis of benign neoplastic or non-neoplastic disease were included in the study. The clinical data, age, sex, presenting complaint, relevant imaging, cyst fluid cytology, and preoperative tissue diagnosis wherever available, were recorded. Patients with a preoperative malignant diagnosis for which pancreaticoduodenectomy was performed and subsequently turned out to be benign/non-neoplastic were analyzed for possible preoperative diagnostic pitfalls.ResultsBenign tumors and non-neoplastic lesions together comprised 8% of the total patients. Serous cystic neoplasm was the most common benign tumor while the most common non-neoplastic entity was chronic pancreatitis. Concordance of preoperative fine-needle aspiration cytology diagnosis with the final histopathological diagnosis was noted in 44% patients. Other rare lesions such as choledochocele, arteriovenous malformation, and adenomyomatous hyperplasia of the common bile duct were also encountered.ConclusionIn this study, we highlight the spectrum of benign neoplastic and non-neoplastic lesions encountered in pancreaticoduodenectomy specimens at a tertiary care center, emphasizing on those lesions that were clinically suspicious for malignancy and revealed a surprising benign diagnosis on the final surgical pathology excision specimen.